JOHN Coleman might have lost out to Numbersixvalverde at the Grand National but at least one result went his way on Saturday as main contenders Hereford could only draw.

The manager and some of the Stanley players took advantage of a rare Saturday off with a trip to Aintree and Coleman said he had his eyes on favourites Hedgehunter and Clan Royal who didn't pass the winning post first.

The racing loss might have hit the manager's pocket but the bigger prize and the finishing line for Stanley is getting ever closer thanks to the Bulls draw.

"It is down to match point now," said Coleman, as Stanley need just two points to see off the chasing pack.

"We need to win one more and we have four league games to have a go at it. It is a good position to be in."

It certainly wasn't a classic at the Lawn on Friday where, after winning at several places they haven't previously this season, the Reds couldn't lay this ghost to rest.

They did, however, go one better than they had previously by picking up a point against the relegation-haunted side.

But they were only 11 minutes from missing out in a game played on a bumpy pitch in tricky conditions which led to the ball being in the air for most of the game.

"That wasn't football," said Coleman. "I was happy with a draw considering the conditions and I did fear for us when we went one-down.

"The pitch was like a car park and an uneven one at that but that is no disrespect to their pitch as ours is just as bad. The wind didn't help the cause as we couldn't get the ball down and pass and I was disappointed with the number of fouls given against us in the second half.

"But we battled away and showed our resilience and nicked a goal."

And that was greeted with deliruim by the 200-plus who travelled from Accrington hoping their side would win and seal the league title.

Still the draw - and the singalong in the club after the game - meant the Reds' fans spirts were still high and the point was enough to put Stanley on the verge of the title.

The game started off strangely as it is odd seeing a Stanley side without Paul Mullin.

The striker had only missed one Conference game in Stanley's three seasons prior to Friday but a neck injury meant he had to sit out his second league clash.

So the front pairing was left to pacey forwards Andy Mangan and Rommy Boco but they got little change out of the towering Rovers backline.

Ian Craney, however, could have given the Reds early cheer but his fourth minute free kick was tipped away by keeper Ryan Clarke.

But, after the early hope, it was Gary Owers' side who got a grip on the game and were first to the ball. They forced two dangerous corners on the half hour which bobbled around the goal and had the Stanley chairman and directors with their head in their hands.

Striker Alex Meechan was the main threat while midfielder Darren Jones was lively for Rovers although Rob Elliot managed to keep them at bay in the first half.

Surely it had to get better after the break but it was more of the same.

There were a couple of nervy moments for both sides with Gary Roberts almost nipping onto a Sekani Simpson short back pass and Guy Madjo fired wide after catching out the visting defence.

Then both sides made changes which proved influential. Tall striker Julian Alsop came on for the home side and David Brown was introduced for Stanley.

Alsop caused problems with his height and gave the defence a torrid time and the home side soon went ahead.

A Damon Searle free kick on 73 minutes wasn't cleared properly by Elliot and the ball fell to Meechan who stuck his foot out and poked the ball home.

It looked like that could settle the match as Stanley had been unable to offer much of a threat up front.

But, five minutes later, Roberts played a cross in from the right wing and keeper Clarke failed to keep hold of it. The ball bounced around the six yard box with Phil Edwards, Andy Todd and Brown all having a go as Forest Green threw their bodies in front of it but the ball finally found its way into the net off Brown.

It was Green then, though, who went all out for the winner with Meechan making it a lively finish as his cross found Alsop but Todd was back to take it off the hitman's foot and Searle's long range effort took a deflection in injury time.